Customer relationship management (crm) software has traditionally offered restaurant brands insights into consumer behavior that can assist in running targeted marketing campaigns. But the practice of doing so has become increasingly challenging as the largest tech brands move to enhance privacy.
“The shift in the digital landscape toward privacy is in line with consumer demand, but it also means advertisements are becoming less effective,” says Phil Quackenboss, vice president of restaurants at Fetch Rewards. “It’s also more difficult to track ROI, because you may no longer have the ability to measure incremental behaviors that are driven by each campaign.”
On top of this, surging inflation means both restaurant brands and consumers are strapped for cash. That means that even if restaurant brands have a CRM, they have an uphill battle on multiple fronts in reaching and convincing customers that they should come dine out.
In many ways, Fetch Rewards was made for this moment. Co-founded in 2013 by then-college student and current Fetch Rewards CEO Wes Schroll, the company’s mission is to build customer loyalty while creating a win-win for the customer and brand alike. Fetch Rewards has since grown into the largest consumer rewards app in the U.S. with more than 15 million active users.
Here’s how it works: Users snap restaurant receipts in the app, building up loyalty points that translate into rewards. Restaurants gain actionable first-party insights that have the ability to enhance CRM data with no impact on unit economics. Customers pay full price for each purchase, and there are no changes required for in-store operations. Fetch offers restaurant brands visibility into purchasing behavior, including on cash transactions, and allows brands to market directly toward customers.
Best of all, says Lindsay Eichten, head of CRM and loyalty at TGI Fridays, restaurants only pay for results. It’s why many of the leading brands are turning to Fetch Rewards.
“The shift in the digital landscape toward privacy is in line with consumer demand, but it also means advertisements are becoming less effective.”
“Fetch Rewards caught my eye with its commitment to pay-for-performance, hyper-targeted customer opportunities,” Eichten says. “I didn’t have to just believe it from the sales pitch, I could actually evaluate for myself how a small investment could work hard for the TGI Fridays brand to deliver incremental value to our guests in a tough macro-economic environment.”
The investment has paid huge dividends for TGI Fridays. Eichten reports that she had high expectations for performance, but Fetch has exceeded her KPIs, “driving incremental sales lift.” The app has driven repeat visits from TGI Fridays’ loyal following, while also creating “new and engaged Fridays customers who can now double dip into Fridays Rewards to earn points from both platforms and maximize values from constrained wallets.”
Eichten says Fetch has become like an extension of her marketing team, helping bring data and insights to the challenge of connecting with a customer base dealing with the same inflation that is affecting restaurant brands. “The macro-economy factors will continue to be steep to overcome,” Eichten says. “Fetch is a waste-less, highly-effective, comprehensive app experience that supports the TGI Fridays brand goals while serving our guests additional value.”
–Charlie Pogacar
For more on Fetch Rewards, visit partners.fetchrewards.com/qsr.
